Exercising During Pregnancy is Good for Mother, Baby

Spanish researchers have clarified doubts over the physical activity recommended during pregnancy. Their work highlights how exercise should be taken not only by healthy, previously active women, but that it is also a good time to adopt a healthy lifestyle. There are clear advantages for both the mother and baby.

Excessive weight gain, pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, caesarean section, lower back pain and urinary incontinence are some of the risks of leading an unhealthy lifestyle during pregnancy.

A study carried out by experts from Camilo José Cela University (UCJC), published in the Journal of American Medicine Association (JAMA), defines the physical exercise patterns during pregnancy which have shown major physiological benefits for both mother and baby.

“The percentage of women who meet the recommendations for exercise during pregnancy is very low,” says María Perales, the lead author of the study and a researcher from the department of Physical Activity and Sports Science. “This is due in part to uncertainty about what type of exercise should be recommended and which should be avoided.”

However, the new study confirms that there is strong scientific evidence maintaining that moderate exercise during pregnancy is safe and beneficial for both mother and baby.

Among the confirmed benefits are: the prevention of excessive weight gain (a key factor in the intergenerational transmission of obesity) and a lower risk of fetal macrosomia (babies who are born weighing more than 4 kilograms), pre-eclampsia, gestational diabetes, caesarean section, lower back pain, pelvic pain and urinary incontinence.